The field of the disclosure relates generally to circuit breakers and, more particularly, to circuit breakers including active arc control features that do not require a triggering circuit or electrical input.
In known electrical switchgear, electrical arcs have the potential to release a very large quantum of energy in a very short period of time. Such arc faults may render switchgear and associated equipment unusable. Known devices and methods for controlling arc energy in switchgear include passive and active systems. Passive systems typically provide increased protection through strengthened enclosures and venting of arc fault discharge. Active devices and methods for arc energy control aim to lessen the time or the magnitude of the arc current to control the arc flash energy. Such known active devices (e.g., circuit breakers) and methods seek to lessen the time the arc exists in the switchgear, either by quenching the arc or transporting the arc to an alternative location.
At least some known circuit breaker devices are used to protect, in a residential, industrial, utility, or commercial environment, against overcurrent conditions, ground fault conditions, or other system anomalies that are undesirable and require the circuit breaker to interrupt the flow of current through the circuit breaker. Known active circuit breaker devices lessen the time the arc exists by interrupting the flow of current through the circuit breaker by using a triggering circuit that requires electrical power to function. These circuits may add a substantial amount of complexity and cost to such circuit breaker devices. Further, in at least some known active circuit breaker devices and methods, limits on the speed of response to an arc flash condition limits the internal arc classification (IAC) of low-, medium-, and high-voltage switchgear in both direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) power systems applications.